Resetarits brothers’ assault trial slated to start Monday in Homer

The trial date for two brothers charged with sexual assault remains scheduled for Monday, but a hearing late Wednesday after press time could change that.

In a hearing held May 28 at the Kenai Courthouse, Superior Court Judge Carl Bauman set a date of Aug. 4 in Homer for the jury trial of Anthony Resetarits, 22, and Joseph Resetarits, 19. Bauman held a hearing at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Kenai Court for assistant district attorney Kelly Lawson and defense lawyers to discuss the status of the case and when it should proceed.

The brothers are charged with one count each of second-degree assault. In charging documents, Alaska State Troopers said the men sexually assaulted with an object a teenage boy at a September 2012 East End Road drinking party. They pleaded not guilty at an October 2012 arraignment and have been out on bail.

From 60 to 80 teenagers and adults were at the 2012 party, including members of Homer High School sports teams. Troopers seized cell phones from people who took photos of the assault.

The brothers’ lawyers, Anthony Resetarits’ attorney, Phillip Weidner, and Joseph Resetarits’ attorney, Michael Moberly, had earlier filed motions in the case. Wednesday’s hearing was to consider the status of those motions and other issues.

In April, Moberly filed motions to dismiss the indictment, to compel disclosure of the juvenile victim’s records for review, to compel disclosure of the juvenile codefendant’s records for review and to compel disclosure of a juvenile witness’s records for review. Through the Office of Victim’s Rights, the victim filed an opposing motion to compel disclosure of his records.

Weidner also filed a motion to dismiss the indictment and to hold an evidentiary hearing regarding alleged violation of Anthony Resetarits’ constitutional rights under Alaska Rules of Criminal Procedure. Moberly joined that motion.

Lawson was in Homer for another trial and did not respond to messages on the status of the case. Weidner and Moberly did not return messages by press time. An update on the trial will be posted on the Homer News website at homernews.com.

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What will it take to shine a light on rural Alaska's sexual assault epidemic?

"Rape is already an under-reported crime. Many women are embarrassed to tell authorities they were raped. Others fear the sort of retaliation from family, friends or acquaintances that came in Steubenville. And too often, if a rape is reported, it's unlikely to make it into court."

"In the case of Steubenville, the rape was reported by a victim who may not have remembered her attack, but graphic images recorded by witnesses to the crime, social media comments and even video confirmed it."

"In Steubenville, the perpetrators were members of a popular football team. Team dynamics and peer pressure were a factor in what happened there. These elements contributed to the rape itself, and fueled the desires of many to cover it up afterward. The bad thing about a "team" is that you're either with the team, or you're on the outs. A team is not unlike a small, isolated community or tribe in that regard.

The victim in Steubenville managed to go against the team only because she lived in a place with social structures in place to protect victims of sexual and domestic violence and, more importantly, because she received the support of an opposing team -- a team that was powerful even if largely virtual -- that was able to alter the conversation."

These drunk punks stuck their immediate phallus in a classmate's ass. There's pictures and I am saying it right here. These two deserve way more than their gonna get. Plow the perverts and check out their Dad, too!